The second cruise ship to arrive since the pandemic began pulled into Honolulu Harbor this week, but its passengers were not allowed to disembark.
The World Residences at Sea is essentially a floating condo. Passengers travel the world on the same ship for about a year.
On its first trip to Hawaiʻi, it docked at Pier 2 on Tuesday morning. But it did not have a port agreement in hand so its passengers could not get off the ship.
The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation said the vessel was scheduled to leave Wednesday night but asked for an extension in hopes it could get the OK to disembark.
The World, whose next stop is Lahaina on Maui, had to leave Honolulu by Friday as another vessel was scheduled to occupy Pier 2.
However, the cruise was able to come to an agreement with port officials on Friday afternoon to continue sailing to Maui. Passengers did not have time to disembark in Honolulu.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has allowed cruise ships to resume business under an emergency order, which is set to expire Jan. 15. The state says it will still require additional safeguards.
So far, The World Residences at Sea, Carnival Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line have formalized health and safety protocols for operations in Hawaiʻi.
